Terrazzo tile and method of making the same



1 619,7 4 March 1927 a. N. J EPPSON ET AL 3 TEHRAZZO TILE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed June 13, 1925 45 W m Georye NlJc'fpson Mas Car/L.I..eae

Patented Mar. 1, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE N. J'EPPSON AND CARL L. LEAFE, OF WORCESTER,

SIGNORS TO NORTON COMPANY, OF WORCESTER, MABSACHUS ET'IB,

T1011 01' MASSACHUSETTS.

HASMOHUSETTS, A8- A CORPORA- IERRAZZO TILE AND METHOD Q1 MAKING THE SAME,

Application filed June 13,

Our invention relates to cement-bonded articles for use as tread surfaces and the like and more particularly to a terrazzo tile an a method of making the same.

In the manufacture of terrazzo cement tread surfaces, the common method of making a floor is that of forming a plastic bed of cement and then rollin marble chips into the surface thereof. hese chips are sprinkled on .the top of the soft but partially set cement and are embedded therein by means of heavy rollers. The'surface is then emitted to stand for a while until it can e ins ected, after which further chips are sprin ed on the cement, particularly in vacant places and the mass is again rolled. It is found t at ordinarily new chips must be rolled into the cement three times before a uniform and satisfactory distribution of the terrazzo material can be obtained. This procedure has the serious disadvantage of producing a weak structure, since each time that chi s are rolled into the partially set cement t e mass is disturbed and the initial set of the cement is broken.

The common way of making a cement tile is to throw a mixture of chips and cement wet-ted with water into a mold and trowe over the surface, after which the mass is rmitted to stand in, the mold and har zn. This method results in a block in which the chips seldom form more than half of the surface area and the tile does not present a dense compact structure. This type of surface wears away ra idly and dusts over with cement powder, t us taking on a dirty and unpleasing a pearance.

'Snch types of ooring as heretofore constructed are not safe for pedestrians and especially where the marble chips are exposed to the weather or become wetted with water. There has accordingly arisen a 1 emand for the use of safety aggregate floors in various public places, such as stairs, platforms and the halls and lobbies of public buildings. I t

It is accordingly an object of our invention to provide an anti-slipping terrazzo cement tile which has a dense and strong structure and a finished surface and in which the exposed faces of the chi s are closely spaced and receive substantial y all of the wear.

It is a further object of our invention-to 1923. Serial H0. 645,183.

provide a terrazzo cement tile of low porosity which contains anti-slipping, wearresisting abrasive chips embedded therein to prevent a pedestrian sli ping and in which the abrasive chi may he interspersed with stone chips to orm pleasing color schemes and attractive'architectural designs.

A still further object is to provide a simple and economical method of makin such a tile and of providing a dense an strong body of cement bonded terrazzo chips and finishing the tops of the exposed chips to form a smooth and polished tread surface.

With these and other objects as will be apparent in the following disclosure, our in vention resides in the steps of a process and the structural composition of a tile as described in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.

i In accordance with our invention we may make a terrazzo tile which has a surface containing stone porcelain chips, including marble, porcelain and the like intersperse with an anti-slipping aggregate, such as chips of bonded abrasive ains. We prefer to employ chips of ceramic-bonded abrasive material, such as described in the patent to Jeppson No. 1,371,683 of March 15, 1921, and in order to floor surfacing, we may intersperse these anti-slipping, wear-resisting abrasive chips with marble chips of various colors and if desired, we may arrange them in a definite pattern or emplo therewith small stone or abrasive blocks 0 a uniform size and shape which are laid in a definite arrangement.

Referring to the drawings, we have there illustrated diagrammatica ly the various steps involved in carrying out one method of our invention and a tile made thereby, in which Fi re. 1 represents the step of washing the c ips; I

Fig. -2shows the mixin operation;

Fig. 3 shows the mix mass being jolted in a mold;

Fi 4 shows the step of pressing a backing t ereon;

Fig. 5 shows the tile, manufacture Fi 6 represents the step of rubbing the tree surface;

Figs. 7 and 8 show the two polishing opat this stage in its provide a pleasing and artistic erations, the first with a grinding wheel and the other with a felt wheel and-chemicals; and

Fig. 9 shows a completed tile.

If, for example, it is desired to make a tile containing a pattern of blocks, surrounded by a terrazzo of suitably crushed and graded marble and anti-slipping aggregates of irregular form, such as illustrated in Fig. 9, we may proceed as follows:

The desired proportions of marble chips and anti-slipping aggregates of ceramic bonded crystalline alumina grains are weighed out and mixed together. We may use, for example, a mixture of one-third aggregates and two-thirds marble, by wei ht, for one type of tile. They are washed with clean water in order to remove surface dirt and particularly to fill the pores of the porous material with water, so that when latter mixed with cement the plastic material will not impregnate the pores. By this procedure we insure that when the material is afterwards bonded with cement and the surface is cleaned, the cement which adheres to the top exposed surface of a porous chip will be easily removed, leaving the aggregate material with open pores.

The washing operation may be carried out in various ways, but we have illustrated it in Fig. 1 as comprising the steps of placing the material 10 in a woven Wire basket 11 and immersing the same in a tub 12 of running water.

These materials, which have been wetted, are then mixed thoroughly in a mixing machine, such as illustrated in Fig. 2, which comprises power driven paddles 15 rotated in a round bottomed, open tub 16. Dry Portland cement, in a desired uantity, such as 50% by Wei ht, is therea ter added to the mixture. l en the aggregate chips and cement have been mixed, water is added to bring the mass to the desired consistency and moldability for the subsequent operations. It. will of course be understood that the proportions of these materials are well within the knowledge of those skilled in the art ma be varied widely.

We ave found, in the course of our ex- -perimentation, that if these anti-slipping and marble chips are bonded in cement, in igiczlordance with the usual practice, that the and strong and that it does not provide a pleasing a pearance such as is required for artistic e ects. Moreover, the chips, if thrown loosely into a mold and then covered with a cement mixture, do not form a roper anti-slipping surface since an insu cient amount of the abrasive chips form the surface of the tread. Due to the irregular shapes of these bodies, only the points, edges and small projecting portions of the chips may be presented on the upper surface of thus formed is not sufliciently dense.

the tread, thus leaving large areas of lhe cement exposed to unnecessary wear.

\Ve have found that it is desirable to have the chips form the major portion of the surface and to receive substantially all of the traffic wear. Hence, we propose to so arrange and treat the chips that broad surfaces thereof will be exposed on the tread surface and to make them compact and adhere closely and firmly to the cement.

In order to accomplish this purpose, we perferably jolt the chips and cement in a mold and thereby insure a dense packing of the mass. We prefer that the initial settling of the chips be accomplished without pressure, since any large amount of pressure, such as is used in the press method of shaping plastic articles, would lend to break off the corners and the sharp portions of the chips and crush them to smaller sizcs, thereby rendering them less effective For the desired purpose. In accordance with our experimentation, we have found that it is desirable to shape the article in two sc|i arate stages, one to form the tread layer and the other to apply a backing thereto. 'lhr first stage comprises placing the facing mixture in a metal mold and then joltiug it on a suitable jolting machine until this trend layer has been suliicieutly settled and compactcd.

The machine for this purpose may be suitably constructed. As illustrated, it may comprise a table 18 which is rcciprocublc vertically by means of a plunger 19 lifted )eriodically by a rotated cam 20. The table 18, at car]: downward morcmcut, strikes sharply against a fixed member 2! and jars the material in the mold 22. This; mold may be of desired construction, and usually comprises an iron frame 2 forming the sides of a multiple mold which arc separable from a bottom 24 so that the tiles may be easily removed therefrom. The mold bottom, which may be of desired configuration, forms the tread surface of the ti e.

If it is desired to form a pattern, chips or blocks 25 may be suitably placed in the bottom of the mold and the concrete and chip mixture poured over them. We prefer that the terrazzo facing layer of chips and cement constitute one-half of the thickness of the tile; hence a considerably thicker layer of the plastic mixture is placed in the mold so that it may settle to the desired thickness. The material is levelled oil roughly in the mold and the joltiug operation is then carried on for a short time, until the mass has been compacted to the desired extent.

Thereafter, we provide a backing layer which is adapted to form the body of the tile or to strengthen the facing layer. As a specific illustration of one backing composi- (Ill lufi

' mold and squeeze delay and tion, we may employ a mixture of one part Portland cement to two parts of sand. These materials may be mixed dry in a machine such as shown in Fig. 2, after which water is added to obtain the usual plasticity as re quired for a cement flooring. This backing material is jolted facing and the whole mass is again jolted in order to smooth downthe backing and cause it to adhere firmly to the facin". This jolted mass is then set away in its mold for 24 hours or more to harden and is supplied with water as may be needed at this stage. When sufliciently hard for handling, it is removed from the mold for subsequent operations.

If it is desired to utilize the jolting molds more frequently, we may press the backing onto the terrazzo facing by hydraulic pressure- This is feasible after the chips have been settled into position and merely require being compacted into a dense mass. At this stage, heavy pressure will not crush the chips as it would if applied thereto initially.

' The backing composition may consist of a fairly dry mixture of cement and sand. as is well known in the art, 1. e., it is wetted only sufliciently to make it hold together after being subjected to pressure. In this case, the tile may be removed from the mold without set away to harden,'thus saving the expense involved in tyingup a large equipment of molds during the hardening operation.

For this pressing operation we may employ any suitable form of press, operated by power or by hand, suchas the type shown in Fig. 4 which comprises a base30. arranged to support the mold 22, and a platen 31 shaped to enter the open upper end of the the materials together. The platen is operated by the usual screw 32 and hand wheel 33 supported by the'framework 34 as is well known.

As the result of either method-of aflixing the backing to the facing, we obtain a tile such is shown in Fig. 5, in which the area of the chips 36, which are visible on the tread surface, does not form tion of the whole surface. Cement is exposed to a large de ee, and if the tile were used in this condition, it would wear away and dust easily and not form a satisfactory flooring.

After the tile has been removed from the mold, it may be further hardened by immersion in water for several days and then dried. It is thereafter treated bya grindin opera: tion which removes a considerable thickness of the surface layer and leaves closely spaced plane chip faces exposed to view throughout the major portion of the tread area. To this end, we preferably employ a rubbing bedsuch as is diagrammatically il- 'The tiles may placed in the mold on top of the i lIlOVE-S the major porlustrated in Fig. 6, which comprises a rotary iron plate 38 carrying a coating of abrasive grains and water on which the tile is held. have their edges ground and are then placed face down on this plate and held stationary so that the abrasive grain carried on the plate cuts and grinds away the exterior surface thereof. This operation smoothes down the face of the tile and rethe top cement layer from the chips and leaves the bright faces of the marble and the clean faces of the aggregates exposed for-a tread surface. After rubbing the mass for from five to twenty minutes, as determined largely by the type of materials used, the tile is then examined and if found necessarv, any small air holes or pores in the top surface formed during the previous operation are filled in with a neat cement which has been prepared of the proper consistency and color scheme to match the tile body as may be desired.

The tile is then permitted to harden for from 24 to 48 hours. it being understood that during these various operations the tile is kept slightly moistened in order to aid the hardening operation. It is thereafter finished on the rubbing bed with a finer abrasive grain which serves to clean. the surfaces of the chips and give the marble a substantially smooth polish, or the tile may be polished by means of a fine grained grinding wheel, preferably made of ceramic bonded silicon carbide abrasive, as shown in Fig. 7. This wheel 40 may be rotated by suitable means and preferably with its disk fa e in contact with the tile. If the tile chips, and particularly if marble is used, need polishing we may do this in a subsequent operation by means of a suitable rotatable felt wheel 42, as illustrated in Fig. 8. YVith this wheel we may employ oxalic acid crystals with a slight amount of water or other suitable chemicals. If desired, a wax may be employed t finish the surface. This gives the marble a m .ght, clean appearance, but does not articularly affect the looks of the abrasive c ips. The tile is now complete and it is again set away in a damp atmosphere to harden, after which it is then ready for use.

If the bod being made is of a large size,

as is require for flooring slabs, a reinforcegrouted or bonded by means of cement into a dense structure. hese chips have plane top faces and irregularly shaped under or tions which unite firmly with the hon ing cement. The lower layer 45 consists of a suitable cement or concrete backing of cheap material which strengthens and supports the facing layer. The tile has a very low porosity or water absorption capacity and thus is particularly serviceablewhere exposed to weather and moisture. It of course will be understood that the term cement is used broadly to cover the usual range of equivalents.

This method is particularly advantageous due to the cooperation between the steps of jolting and grinding, since the latter opera tion is greatly reduced in expense and time by the previous step which causes the chips to be arranged with flat faces against the mold bottom. This means that to get a given area of chi fares, it is not necessary to grind the ham chips in a jolted tile for as long a time as would be required with a tile made in a. press orby ordinary methods. lVe moreover obtain a tile which is stronger than tiles which have been otherwise produced, thus making it feasible to utilize a thinner tile for the same structural stresses and strains or to produce a particularly strong body where building requirements call .for the same.

The term jolting, as used throughout this specification and the ap nded claims, means reciprocating the mol or the mixture of ingredients of the composition, in an up and down direction during which the/mold is maintained in a substantiall upright position to 'olt or jar the mol so as to distribute t e chips in a substantially uniform manner over the bottom of the mold.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: V

'1. The method of making a terrazzo tile comprising the steps of wetting porous chips of bonded abrasive grains withwater, mixin them with dry cement, and thereafter eveloping a desired moldability therein, shaping a tile therefrom and grinding oif a layer from the tile to provide plane faces on the exposed chi s.

2. The method of ma 'ng a, terrazzo tile comprising the steps of mixing terrazzo chi s of bonded abrasive grains with water, ad ing dry cement thereto and forming a moldable 'mass therefrom, jolting the mixture in a mold to form a tread layer, placing a cement backing thereon, ressing the backing and facing layers toget er, permitting the tile to harden, and thereafter grinding the tread layer to present exposed plane chip faces which form the major portion of the tile surface.

3. The me'thodof making a terrazzo tile comprising the steps of wetting porous abrasive aggregates and stone chips with water, mixing dry cement therewith, adding water to develop moldability therein, jolting the mixture ma mold to provide a compact surface layer, permitting the tile to harden and subsequently grinding said layer to provide a tread surface having plane chip faces closely spaced and surrounded by ce-.

ment.

4. A terrazzo tile comprising a dense body of low porosity having irregularly shaped chips of stone and abrasive aggregates arranged in substantially the maximum contiguity and compactness and bonded with cement, the exposed faces of said chips being plane-and closely positioned and forming such a )ortion of the tread surface as to receive su st-antially all of the ti'aflic wear.

5. A terrazzo ,tile comprising a cement body having a facing layer of chips of stone and abrasive aggregates embedded in cement as a dense, compact, structurally strong mass in which the chips are in close contact and occupy the major portion of the tread area of said layer, said chips having plane faces which have been ground and polished and the chips and the cement exposed therebetween having a low water absorptive ca acity.

igned at Worcester, Massachusetts, this 12th day of J une, 1923.

GEORGE N. JEPPSON. CARL L. LEAFE. A

grouted or bonded bv means of cement into a dense structure. hese chips have plane top faces and irregularly shaped under )ortions which unite firmly with the bonding cement. The lower layer t?) consists of a suitable cement or concrete backing of cheap material which strengthens and supports the facing layer. The tile has a very low porosity or water absorption capacity and thus is particularly serviceable where ex posed to weather and moisture. 1t of course will be understood that the term cement is used broadly to cover the usual range ot' equivalents.

This method is mrticularly advantageous due to the cooperation between the steps 01 jolting and grinding, since the latter opera-- tion is greatly reduced in expense and time by the previous step which causes the chips to be arranged with flat t'aces against the mold bottom. This means that to get a given area of chip faces, it is not necessary to grind the hard chips in a jolted tile for as long a time as would be required with a tile made in a press orby ordinary methods. \Ve moreover obtain a tile which is stronger than tiles which have been otherwise produced, thus making it feasible to utilize a thinner tile for the same structural stresses and strains or to produce a particularly strong body where building requirements call for the same.

The term jolting, as used throughout this specification and the ap iended claims, means reciprocating the molt, or the mixture of ingredients of the composition, in an up and down direction during which the mold is maintained in a' substantially upright position to jolt or jar the mold so as to dis tribute the chips in a substantially uniform manner over the bottom of the mold.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. The method of making a terrazzo tile comprising the steps of wetting porous chips of bonded abrasive grains withwater, mixing them with dry cement, and thereafter developing a desired moldahility therein, shaping a tile therefrom and grinding of! a layer from the tile "to provide plane faces on the exposed chi s.

2. The method of mating a terrazzo tile comprising the steps of mixing terrazzo chi s of bonded abrasive grains with water, adcing dry cement thereto and forming a moldable mass therefrom, jolting the mixture in a mold to form a tread layer, placing a cement backing thereon, pressing the backing and facing layers together, permitting the tile to harden, and thereafter grinding the tread layer to present exposed plane chip faces which form the major portion of the tile surface.

3. The method of making a terrazzo tile comprising the steps of wetting porous abrasive aggregates and stone chips with water, mixing dry cement therewith, adding water to develop moldability therein, jolting the mixture in a mold to provide a compact surface layer, permitting the tile to harden and subsequently grinding said layer to provide a tread surface having plane chip taccs closely spaced and surrounded by cement.

4, A terrazzo tile comprising a dense body of low porosity having irregularly shaped chips of stone and abrasive aggregates arranged in substantially the maximum eontiguity and compactness and bonded with cement, the exposed faces of said chips being planeand closely positioned and forming such a portion of the tread surface as to receive su stantially all of the trafiic wear.

5. A terrazzo ,tile comprising a cement body having a facing layer of chips of stone and abrasive aggregates embedded in cement as a dense, compact, structurally strong mass in which the chips are in close contact and occupy the major portion of the tread area of said layer, said chips having plane faces which have been ground and polished and the chips and the cement exposed therebetween having a low Water absorptive ca acity.

L igned at Worcester, Massachusetts, this 12th day of J one, 1923.

GEORGE N. JEPPSON. CARL L. LEAFE.

Certificate of Correction.

Patent No. 1,619,734.

Granted March 1, 1927, to

GEORGE N. JEPPSON ET AL.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the abovenin said batters patent requiring correction as follows: Page 1, line 75; strike out the :2, line 49, after the word art insert the word and; and tent should be read with these corrections therein that the same ma. conform to the record of the case in the Patent Oflice.

Sign

and sealed 29th day of March, A. D. 1927.

M. J. MOORE, Acting Uonmz'ssiomr of Patents.

Certificate of Correction.

Granted March 1, 1927, to

GEORGE N. JEPPSON ET AL.

It ishereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the abovepatent requiring correction as follows: Page 1, line 75; strike out the wandpotmlnin pagiline 49, after the word art insert the word and; and said Lit-hers 13 should be read with these corrections therein that the ame ma. conform to the record of the case in the Patent Oflice.

Signed and sealed 29th day of March, A. D. 1927. v

' M. J. MOORE,

Actmg Coammaswner of Patents.

Patent N6. 1,619,734. 

